September 24, 2019
College of Education premieres student teaching documentary at Ed Symposium
Education majors will hear a spectrum of voices — from student teachers to first-year teachers to members of the 2019 Kansas Teachers of the Year team — at this year's Education Symposium Oct. 10. Some will be in person, but the student teachers will share their messages in the College of Education's 2019 documentary "A Walk in My Shoes: Student Teaching."
Education Symposium is an annual professional development forum in the College of Education that is planned by future teachers for future teachers.
The theme is "21st Century Education: Beyond Content" and panel discussions and speakers support the theme through four central topics: early-career teacher success; student-centered success; wellness in the classroom; and behavioral management.
Randy Watson, Kansas commissioner of education, will welcome attendees before the panel discussions begin. A highlight is always the mid-morning Hause Creativity Lecture in which the Kansas teachers of the year make their presentation. It is named after longtime faculty member Richard Hause, whose legendary love for creativity in the classroom sparked his students' imaginations.
When it comes to student teaching, imaginations can run wild — and that may not necessarily be a good thing. The final step of teacher preparation is the student teaching semester, and five brave future teachers recorded video journals during their student teaching experience and shared some insights they learned along the way.
Debbie Mercer, dean of the College of Education, said she is looking forward to having hundreds of future teachers watch the film at the same time.
"There simply could not be a better place for the premiere of this documentary than Ed Symposium because future teachers are both excited about student teaching and a bit apprehensive," Mercer said. "We thank these young professionals for stepping up and taking on the extra work and are grateful to their cooperating teachers and school administrators for making this film possible."
Education Symposium is coordinated by Ana Mendonca, doctoral student in curriculum and instruction, and five undergraduate students: Katey Hinds, speakers' chair; Gabby Denzel, registration chair; Sally Lopez, volunteer chair; Alexandra Hornung, publication chair; and Rachel Cortes, symposium chair.